Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Fly 'em, if ya got 'em

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY - A smokers-only airline said Tuesday it hopes to be airborne next year, flying a route between Tokyo and the German city of Dusseldorf where there are connections onward to European destinations.

Alexander Schoppmann, founder of Smoker's International Airways (Smintair), told Deutsche Presse-Agentur he would be leasing two Boeing 747 jumbo jets and fitting them out entirely with just 138 roomy first-class and business-class seats each.

Schoppmann described Smintair as the world's first airline just for smokers. Most other airlines have banned smoking..... Schoppmann said he also chose Dusseldorf as a destination because it has a large Japanese business community that would be willing to pay Smintair's high seat prices, but currently has no direct connections to Tokyo.